Double cigarette feed



Feb. 23, 1932. w. B. BRONANDER 1,847,060

DOUBLE CIGARETTE FEED Filed Nov. 21, 1930 FIG. I

I I mvagno W /fMW ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 23, 1932 Y UNITED STiATES PATENT, OFFIC I WILHELM BERTIL BRONANLDEB; OF MONTGLAIR, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO AMERI- CAN MACHINE 8c FOUNDRY COMPANY, A CORPORATION ,OF NEW JERSEYv OUBLE CIGARETTE FEED Application e eaneveinber 21, 1930. Serial No. 497,282."

This invention relates to cigarette feeds for cigarette packaging machines, its principal object being to provide improved means for guiding thecigarettesinto position to be ejected from the passageways. With this and other objectsnot' specifically mentioned in view, the invention consists in certain constructions and combinations which'w'ill be hereinafter fully described and then specifically set forth in the claims-hereunto, appended. i

In cigarette feeds of this type hitherto in use, the cigarettes in "order to'reach' their ejecting positions in the lower ends of the passageways, were allowed to drop through a height" equal to the width of a cigarette row in the package, thus frequently causing jamming and injuring the cigarettes, especially, 20 when a cigarette happened to fall endwise.

In the presentunvention, the distance through which the cigarettes move to reach ejecting position isnot only reducedto' one half, as the cigarettes are fed symmetrically from opposite sides of the ejectin g position, each side filling only the width of one half a row of cigarettes, but furthermore the cigarettes are permitted to roll to their ejecting positions. In prior cigarette feeds, the groups of cigarettes were'alternately ejected bytwo reciprocating plungers which push them into the receivingchamber of a compactor. The improved arrangement requires only" one plunger for the same speed of the packaging machine owing to the saving of time in the travelof the cigarettes. l g

. In the accompanying drawings'which form a part of this specification and in which like characters of reference indicate the same or like parts: d

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the improved feed mechanism; i v

Fig. 2 is a sectionalside elevation of the same taken on line 2-2 ,ofFig. 1; and

, igs3 is a plan view of the mechanism on line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and i Fig. 4 is a detail view of the lower ends of' the passageways withjthe cigarettes in ejecting position. i

Incarrying the invention'into efli'ect,there is provided apluralityof inclined passageways having their lower ends in horizontal al gnment with each other-and adapted to re- CGIVE cigarettes from a suitable source of slipply such as a hopper, and means for ejecting the cigarettes from the lower ends of the passageways. In the best constructions contemplated, the passageways are provided with stops at their lower ends arranged tostop the cigarettes in ejecting position, and areprovided at their upper ends with oscillating rollers adapted to feed the cigarettes into said passageways. In the preferred form of construction, the ejecting'mea'ns includes a reciprocating plunger; These various means and parts may be widely varied in construction withinthe scope of the claims, for the particular machine selected to illustrate the "invention is but one of many possible, embodifor the cigarettes C... Two housings'9 attached to rear wall'7 carry in ball bearings 10 a number of knurled or fluted agitating rollers 11 extending into the cigarette, chambers'A and B. Rollers 11 carry gears 12 which are operated by racks 13 actuated through levers 14 by a bell crank lever 15 pivoted on stud 16 in wall .7. To lever 15 is imparted an oscillating'motion'throu'gh a rod 17 by a suitable cam not shown. The rollers 11 support the cigarettes C inthe compartments A and B and feed them into the passageways 18. As the rollers 11 rotate" alternately in opposite directions, they prevent, the cigarettes from sticking together, or from entering between the rollers two at a time,

or at an angle.

The two passageways 18 feed the cigarettes to ejecting positiorneach passageway supplying one half of the required number of cigarettes over a correspondingly shorterfdistance, thus cutting the'fee'dingtirneof the cigarettes in half. The passageways are gradually curved from an inclined to a horizontal position at their lower ends so that the weight of the cigarettes is partially supported during their passage in them and they may roll into ejecting position instead of dropping into the same asheretofore when the passageways were in a more or less vertical position. The collected cigarettes in ejecting position, being fed in from the sides instead of from the top, do not have to sustain the entire weight of cigarettes in the passageways above them and therefore are less liable to be undulycompressed together, so that the ejecting'plunger will eject the correct number ofcigarettes and will not take along an extra cigarette from one of the rows of cigarettes as sometimes happened with the prior arrangements. The passageways 18 on their ejecting ends are provided with stops 19 against which the leading cigarette of each half-group rests when a new groupv enters ejecting position. These stops are formed by the downwardly extending webs on the lower ends of the upper wall and partition of the left hand passageway, and anupwardly extending web on the lower end of the lower wall of the right hand passageway. As shown in Fig. 4, the stops are laterally spaced with respect to each other so that the top row of six cigarettes is out of alignment with the other two rows of seven cigarettes, which is highly desirable when a group of twenty cigarettes is to be wrapped in a single package.

" A further advantage of this construction is that even if each cigarette of the half-groups on each side of the stopswere compressed to thesame degree as in prior constructions, yet,

' since there are only one half as many cigarettes on each side of the stops, the leading cigarettes of the next half-groups in the passageways would project into the path of the ejecting plunger only one half as much as in prior constructions. This would further diminish thepossibility that an extra cigarette might .be ejected. The cigarettes in ejecting position are ejected by a plunger 20 provided with vertically spaced plates 21 having a width equal tothe width of one row of cigarettes and a thickness slightlyless than the diameter of a cigarette. The plates 21 are provided with longitudinal slots in alignment with the stops l9 and on entering into thepassageways,pushthe collected eigarettes through a mouthpiece 22 into thereceiving chamber of a compaetor which they are compressed into proper shape for packaging. Plunger 20 has a reciprocatingmotion imparted to it through a link 23 from a lever 24 actuated through a rod 25 by a cam not shown. Lever 24 is loosely mounted on pivot 26 supported in stand 5. Plunger 20 is equipped with a guide shoe 27 sliding in guidebar 28 also fastened to stand 5.

r The front sides of the passageways 18 are closed by transparent doors 29 serving also as guides for the cigarettes. The lower ends of the doors 29 are so cut as shown at 80 in Fig. 4 to expose the cigarettes iii-ejecting position to the forward stroke of the plunger 20, whereby the cigarettes are ejected from the passageways. The doors 29 are fastened by means of hinges 31 to the side walls of the cigarette hopper to render the passageways-readily accessible for. any desired purpose.

In view of the foregoing a detailed description of theoperation of the device is deemed unnecessary and, therefore, omitted in the interest of brevity.

What is claimed is: V I

1. Ina cigarette feed for cigarette packaging machines, the combination with a source ofsupply of cigarettes, of a plurality .of vertically inclined passageways having their lower ends terminating in opposed relation and in horizontal alignment with each other and adapted to receive cigarettes from said source of supply at their upper ends, and means for ejecting cigarettes from each of said lower ends simultaneously.

2. I11 a cigarette feed for cigarette packaging machines, the combination with a source of supply of cigarettes, of a plurality of vertically inclined passageways having:

means for ejecting cigarettes from each of.

said lower ends simultaneously, each of said passageways being provided with partitions, whereby to feed a plurality of rows of cigarettes into position tobe engaged by said means.

3. In a cigarette feed for cigarette packaging machines, the combination with a source of supply of cigarettes, of a plurality of vertically inclined passageways having their lower ends terminating in opposed relation and in horizontal alignment with each other and adapted to receive cigarettes from said source. of supply at their upper ends, and means for ejecting cigarettes from each of said lower ends simultaneously, said passageways being provided with stops at their lower ends, whereby to stop. the cigarettes in each passageway in position to be engaged by saidpassageways having an upper wall prointo vertically disaligned position to be en gaged by said means, and said means inoludv ing a reciprocating plunger provided with a plurality of vertically spaced plates adapted to engage the rows of cigarettes and provided with longitudinal slots in alignment with said stops to permit said plates to move forward into the lower ends of said passageways.

5. In a cigarette feed for cigarette packaging machines, the combination with a source of supply of cigarettes, of a plurality of vertically inclined passageways having their lower ends terminating in opposed re-. lation and in horizontal alignment with each other and adapted to receive cigarettes from said source of supply at their upper ends, and means for ejecting cigarettes from each of said lower ends simultaneously, said passageways being provided with means for guiding a plurality of rows of cigarettes into vertically disaligned position to be engaged by said means. Y

6. In a cigarette feed for cigarette packaging machines, the combination with a source of supply of cigarettes, of a pluralityof vertically inclined passageways having their lower ends terminating in opposed relation and in horizontal alignment with each other and adapted to receive cigarettes from said source of supply at their upper ends, and means for ejecting cigarettes from each of said lower ends simultaneously, said source of supply including a hopper having compartments arranged to feed cigarettes to each of said passageways, respectively, and doors hinged on said hopper and arranged adjacent the lower ends of said passageways to expose the cigarettes in the lower ends of the passageways to said means.

7 In a cigarette feed for cigarette packaging machines, the combination with a source of supply of cigarettes, of a plurality of vertically inclined passageways having their lower ends terminating in opposed relation and in horizontal alignment with each other and adapted to receive cigarettes from said source of supply at their upper ends, mechanism for feeding the cigarettes into the upper ends of said passageways, and means for ejecting cigarettes from each of said lower ends simultaneously.

8. In a cigarette feed for cigarette packaging machines, the combination with a source of supply of cigarettes, of a plurality of vertically inclined passageways having their lower ends terminating in opposed relation and in horizontal alignment with each other and adapted to receive cigarettes from said source of supply at their upper ends, mechanism for feeding the cigarettes .into the upper ends ofsaid passageways, and means' for ejecting cigarettes from each of said lower ends simultaneously, said mechanism including a plurality of rollers disposed above the entrances to said passageways, gears on each of said rollers, an oscillating lever, and racks connected to said lever and meshing with said gears.

9. The combination with means for forwarding a predetermined group of cigarettes endwise, of a plurality of passageways for feeding cigarettes sidewise, said passageways having opposed delivery ends coacting to form a single row of cigarettes in the range of action of said forwarding means.

10. The combination with means for forwarding a predetermined roup of cigarettes definitely positioning the cigarettes in the row.

11. The combination with means for forwarding a predetermined roup of cigarettes endwise, of a plurality 0% passageways for feeding cigarettes sidewise, saidpassageways having opposed delivery ends coactlng to form a single'row of cigarettes in the range of action of said forwarding means, and a sto' intermediate the ends of said row for itely positioning the cigarettes in the row, said means including a plunger arranged to pass to either side of said stop and having a slit therein to receive the stop.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

WILHELM B. BRONANDER. 

